Skin allergy testing is a method for medical diagnosis of allergies that attempts to provoke a small, controlled, allergic response. A microscopic amount of allergen is introduced to a patient skin by various means. One of these is a prick test wherein an allergen is introduced by pricking the skin with a needle containing a small amount of allergen. Other tests such as the skin scratch test provides for a deep dermic scratch with the help of a blunt bottom of a lancet, and intra-dermic test involving a tiny quantity of allergen injected under the dermis with a hypodermic syringe, a skin scraped test involving a superficial scrape performed with the help of the bevel of a needle to remove the superficial layer of the epidermis and a patch test wherein a patch is applied to the skin, the patch containing a small amount of allergen.
In the prick test, a few drops of purified allergen are generally pricked onto the skin surface, usually the forearm. This test is usually done in order to identify allergies caused by such things as pet dander, dust, pollen, foods or dust mites. The skin prick test involves first placing a small amount of substances that may be causing your symptoms on the skin, most often on the forearm or upper arm back. Some of the prick test kits that are available are utilized to stretch the amount of antigen that can be utilized. Typically, a 5 mL bottle of antigen can provide up to 1800 test of glycerinated extract. Typically, there are provided a plurality of wells in a tray, with each well being filled with 0.125 mL of extract. A pick is utilized to dip the end thereof into the small amount of extract disposed in the bottom of the well and then a particular site is pricked on an individual. Some of these picks provide for multiple well associations, such that a series of six or seven wells in a line in the tray can be accessed such that six different antigens can be applied to an individual's skin at a single time. There are even larger arrays of picks that can be dipped into the well for treating a large area with more antigens at the same time. One of the issues is that the antigen must be removed from a sterile bottle with a needle or the such, since the sterile bottle containing the antigen typically has some type of rubber stopper through which the hypodermic needle can be inserted. Once the hyperbaric needle is inserted therein, the sterile barrier is broken. The antigen is indisposed into the well and then the pick disposed therein multiple times. There is not necessarily any sterilization procedure between applying this to the skin of an individual and then disposing the pick back into the well for sealing that well. Thus, once the antigen is extracted from the 5 mL bottle, the first use of the antigen is the only sterile use. Thereafter, application thereof up to 1800 times can potentially result in issues.